This CD reissue of a Pablo date features Frank Foster (on tenor and soprano) and Frank Wess (tenor, flute and alto) at their best. They perform three Wess originals, one by Foster, and a variety of mostly underplayed standards (including Neal Hefti's "Two for the Blues," plus "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most") and a surprisingly uptempo "Send In the Clowns." With pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Marvin "Smitty" Smith offering stimulating support, this is an excellent showcase for the two Franks. A follow-up Concord set (Frankly Speaking) used the same personnel.

This second collection of early, otherwise unavailable EPs, demos, and compilation cuts from F.Y.P. is not a favorite of the band, but fans apparently demanded that this early stuff be available again, so the band threw together this 43-song CD. But after the first few numbers from the Idiocy 7", like "Jerkoff" and "Toss My Cookies," which are F.Y.P.

standards, the record veers back to when F.Y.P. had yet to hone its skills. Some of these songs are a bit derivative of any typical hardcore band that's been banging around in a garage for a few months, while others sound like practice sessions. They're all recorded as raw as can be, while some sound like they were written on the spot. Also, it's hard to get through the whole record. This one is only for voracious fans of the band who want to check out what they were doing in their infancy from the late '80s to early '90s.

This two-disc set from hard-rocking Texans Dangerous Toys features the band's well-received 1989 eponymous debut, which included the hits "Teas'n Pleas'n" and "Scared," and 1991 sophomore outing Hellacious Acres, which included a muscular cover of Bad Company's "Feel Like Makin' Love."